Open Wound
by Youko-Kokuryuuha
Summary: It was a wound he had forgotten, the sting long since faded away. It was a wound that he had hoped would never open again. But Hope was not on his side. Now the flesh has been torn anew, and an old wound that had finally begun to heal has been opened.
1. The Open Wound

Warnings: Dunno if this really deserves a warning, really. Might be some swearing in later chapters.

Disclaimer: I don't own BeyBlade, yadda yadda.

_Chapter1:_

He clutched his gut and wheeled over in pain; he was bleeding, and dying, his life ebbing away...

"Kai!"

He heard Max's gasp. "I'm okay, really." His faced twisted in pain.

"Kenny, quick! Use Dizzi to get online. We need to treat this wound so he can survive until we get him to a hospital."

Kai's vision blurred as he fell unconscious, mumbling the words, "No really I'm okay..."

-

His eyes snapped open as he realized he was in a hospitial bed. A shadow lay over him."Who are you?" he asked hesitantly. The figure shrugged.

"That doesn't matter. Where's my sister? Where is Klara?" Kai's eyes grew dangerously round.

"W-what? Klara's gone. She's dead." The figure laughed at Kai's words.

"Do you _really_ think she could be killed so easily? She'll be back; she will have her revenge."

Kai was shaking. His body had decided to disobey him, and try as he might, he could not control the trembling. He could feel it again, that sensation of dread, of cold apprehension dawning upon, constricting his lungs.

"She'll be back, just–for–_you_."

"Shut _up_!" he snarled. "You're a liar!" His fist shot at the shadow but met stagnant air. He was sitting up right in his own bed. He felt his face. It was covered in cold sweat. "No! It's all lies. She's not coming back. It's impossible. She's dead," he murmured. He felt a hand touch his shoulder; it took nearly all his nerve simply not to jump at the touch.

"Are you okay? You're sweating dangerously." The voice was female. It was Hillary.

"Fine," Kai lied, changing back to his regular harsh voice. "I just need to go for a walk."

It had been a year since the BladeBreakers had won their second Championship Title. And it had been two years since his battle with "Paine" but, he was still having nightmares. Often nights would pass and he would see the same face, hear the same laugh...

But it was stupid, to be honest, and to be frank, he wasn't entirely certain Klara had even _had_ a sister. Not that it matter. Whatever he seemed to reason during the day, his mind pointedly disregard it. It was frustrating, infuriating, and he couldn't do a single thing about it, which, in itself, added to his anxiety.

The blue haired teen stood up and headed for the door. "I'll be back," he said. He saw Hilary's expression and his resolution faltered. "Don't," he said softly. "Don't look so worried." He was trying his hardest to sound brave, though he was truly terrified. He closed the door and stepped out into the night, the air cool upon his neck as it whipped against it.

The stars twinkled and seemed to smile at him, and the moon cast a soft glow upon the earth as he trudged forward and lost himself in the tangling of leafs and bark. The night sky and its inhabitants should have been comforting.

Kai took little notice.

There was nothing he could not have handled before. He alone had braved the hazardous embrace of Black Dranzer, and he alone had reemerged, unscathed and whole again; no other could make the same claim. At yet here he was, strolling the quiet woods at night because of his silly nightmares. It made him feel like a tiny helpless child again, kneeling before Boris and without power.

He clenched his teeth. Thinking about how much he hated Boris was _not_ going to help him calm down.

He walked further until he came to an opening, and saw that he was surrounded by trees on all sides. His agitation mounting, he withdrew Dranzer from his pocket and gazed at it, watching the luminescent light reflect from its surface. With a grunt of exertion and the pull of a cord, the blade spun carelessly upon the earthy floor.

Kai froze. As Dranzer spun on the ground, he realized another voice had echoed with his. He glanced around wildly, but saw only the branches of trees bobbing lazily in the night gale. "Just the wind," he murmured. He stared into the night sky. It was only now that he began to appreciate its beauty and calming effect.

"The moon is beautiful tonight. It reminds me of–" He was cut off by the sound of a grey beyblade smashing into his. The sound of metal against filled his ears as Dranzer flew to his hand. He glanced up from the familiar beyblade whirling away on the ground, its sight leaving a hollow impression within his stomach; his gaze hardened.

"Hello, Tala."

-End Chapter-

A/N:

-Edited this one too, as much as I lazily can. It makes me twitch when I try to read it because of how _bad_ it was. -.- Well, hopefully the addition and corrections made it a better read. If only I had the energy to go back and re-write all of my horrible '04 fics. :p


	2. Goodbye, My Friend

_Chapter2:_

Tala's eyes flashed dangerously as he smirked, "Never thought I'd see you at Klara's old training spot." Kai turned his head to face his former teammate. He was smirking, and Kai was quite sure he knew why; his feet had gone cold as the blood had drained from his face.

"What do you want?" He said it harshly. "And what do you know about Klara?"

Tala's ears pointed themselves as if to adjust his hearing. "What do I know about her and what do I want? You're kidding me! You don't know?" Tala laughed. It was a clear jest, a clear mock. The laughter died away and Tala's expression became sharp. "Don't be stupid, Kai."

"_What do you want?_" Kai hissed the repeated question.

Tala jumped down from the oak tree and murmured, his expression somewhat cold. "You..." He trailed off. "She's in suspended animation at Biovolt. They're trying to treat her injuries but, it's not going well. There just isn't enough energy to revive her. _You_ did this," he added, trembling slightly.

"Let's go, Kai! You and me, right now!"

Wolborg flew into the air and met with Dranzer a second later. The teens wasted no time calling their bit-beast in a jumble of words. Both bit-beast appeared and clashed. Kai was shocked to see the resemblance between Wolborg and Revenge. It was as though Tala had read his mind.

"Scared you, did I? Revenge was originally modeled after Wolborg but escaped. I was proud when Klara had become cold enough to tame him. But _you _took that away from her. From me." A tear strolled down Tala's cheek and for an instant, he seemed normal, vulnerable. But this soft side was instantly replaced by a cold exterior. "You're going to _die_ because of that!"

Dranzer smashed against Wolborg and sent him flying into a tree. Tala was wrenched to the side.

"I said I'll make you pay. I won't break a promise," Tala whispered. "Wolborg...Blizzalog!" The wolf roared and sent hail flying at Dranzer, so that it skipped backwards upon the earth and wobbled, spinning feebly in place.

Blood surged to Kai's head as he filled with dread: Dranzer was going to lose. He was going to lose and be ripped apart by Tala's seething wrath. Seeing this, he flung out his arm, tracing an arc through the air until his finger came to rest upon Tala's face, which was now contorted with rage.

Dranzer burst into flames and met Wolborg's attack, head on. Light burst forth from the confrontation and the blow sent Kai reeling as he lost his footing. There was a thud of metal and the dust cleared. Dranzer lay up on the ground, inert and covered in dirt. Kai swallowed, fear gripping at him as his heart jumped to his throat.

Dranzer's bit-chip was blank.

Tala reached out, smirking, and grabbed Wolborg. He ran a hand through his hair, pulling out the bits of earth in his matted hair. "Game over," he said. The smirk became a maniacal grin. He walked off, laughing madly to the heavens, and then disappeared. Kai clutched his defeated blade.

"No. How can it be starting all over again!" he sobbed silently. "How...?"

-End Chapter-

A/N:

-Edited.


	3. Betrayal of an Ally

_Chapter3:_

The room was quiet. Not a soul move but for Tala and Byran as they strode through the lab, their footsteps eerily muffled. Erected upon the far wall of the place was a large tank filled with glowing green fluid, with the occasional cord or pipe jutting out from the wall and feeding into the structure. A single body floated lazily within.

Tala walked up to the unconscious body of Klara. "See? I told you I'd get Dranzer! See? Then we can revive you and...dammit Klara! You can't die!" He banged his fist against the wall.

Bryan stared at his usually ice cold leader. _Tala... _he thought sorrowfully. _I can't remember the last time he's shown such a wide range of emotions. _His expression softened but hardened just as quickly. He walked over to Tala and smacked him across the face. "Get over it! If you let your emotions make you weak, you'll end up like her!" he shouted.

Tala's hand flew to Bryan's throat. "How could you!? How could you say that! She's your s-"

"So what if she's my sister!?" Bryan spat. "It won't matter if she's dead. Especially if you can't carry out the plan. We can't be led by such a weak leader." Tala's grip loosened.

"I-I'll upload Dranzer," he stuttered. He walked over to the panel and held up Wolborg to the screen. He watched as the green light scanned his blade.

"Bit-beast, received," it beeped.

With a nod that seemed more mechanical than human in Bryan's direction, he strode from the room and down the hall to Boris Balvok's office. He walked in and sat down. "Boris," he said. "The bit-beast has been recieved. Klara should awake within the next couple of days."

"Excellent. Then we can begin the experimentation. Isn't that nice? You'll have someone just like you," Boris laughed. "That is all. You may return to your dormitory." Tala stood up and glared at Boris as he turned his back to him.

_Boris,_ he thought bitterly as he looked down at his inhuman and metallic structure. _The man that's responsible for me being what I am. A heartless machine. Well, little does he know the program was flawed. I do have emotions. I am a human being. And once the plan is complete, Boris will be no more._ Had he been using speech, the words would have been accompanied by a sneered. He walked down the hall and locked eyes with Bryan.

"So, do they know?" It was Bryan again, walking towards him from the dimly corridor.

Tala smirked, "Not a clue." He was giddy with excitement, and for the first time in years he had hope that Boris would no longer be able to restrain him, or any of them. They would be free to roam the world, to do their wasted lives justice and live for themselves.

"Bryan," Tala said at last, "when this is over, where will you go?" He had wondered, really, whether or not Bryan would depart with him and Klara, but their quarrel had made it painfully obvious that he had no wish to be in the vicinity of his sister.

"I'll stay here, Tala."

Tala threw him an incredulous look. "Are you crazy? After all we've done to escape from this place, after risking our lives and security for months just to be free of–" Tala froze mid-speech, and the little color on his face drained as Bryan rummaged through his vest, extracting a smile wire. A microphone was attached to the end.

"You were wired?" Tala groaned, his voice barely above a whisper. Bryan grinned wildly and forced Tala back into Boris who grabbed him.

"You've been found out Tala, thanks to Bryan. Now for your punishment," he laughed.

Bryan watched as Tala was dragged down the hallway and blocked out his screams of rage.

"Bryan! How could you! We made a blood pact! You traitor! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" He turned his head as a tear strolled down his cheek.

_I'm sorry Tala. But it was the only way to rid them of their suspicions. Why must the ways of survival be so cruel?_ Bryan thought sorrowfully. In this place, it was a dog-eat-dog world. The swift-thinking survived, the slow-witted didn't. It had always been that way.

And yet, he felt terrible. Hadn't he betrayed the closest person he had to a brother? Guilt and regret were gnawing away on his insides, and he felt as though he would have rather shriveled up and died.

He walked back to the dormitory, shuffled in and sat down on his bed.

"Spencer," he mumbled. The larger teen backed away. "Don't go. Listen. If Tala gets out, I don't want you to stop him. Even if he tries to kill me," he whispered. Spencer looked at Bryan incredulously, but nodded.

"That goes for you too, Ian. Don't stop him or try to get help. Both of you stay here." Spencer and Ian nodded in unison. "Good then," Bryan sighed. He slid off his bed and walked out of the room.  
-

Tala felt the sting of the whip as it cracked down on his back. Blood trickled down his back and crossed over scars days old. "Bryan...I still don't understand why you betray me," he rasped. Again the whip stung. His body had begun to adjust to the pain and had become numb to most of it. But what stung the most was Bryan's treachery.

The door opened as Boris stepped through. "So, have you had enough yet? Or do you need a few more days?" he jeered cruelly. Tala glared furiously at Boris and noticed the gun in his hand.

He sneered, "You are a fool to bring that in here." He yanked the chains and felt the electric charge that had shocked him when he had first tried to escaped.

But still he pulled. "AHHHH! BORIS!" he screeched as the chains snapped and sparks surged from his arms. He charged down the guard and flung him at Boris. The impact smashed Boris into the cellar wall and forced him to drop his gun. Tala lunged for it as he grabbed his jacket, on the floor.

He flew out the door and shut it. He brook off one of the metal hooks on his jacket and used it to jam the key hole so they couldn't get out. Thinking, quickly, he threw his hands into the familiar sleeves. He would have to be fast; it wouldn't take long for Boris to start screaming his head off like the little bitch he was get someone to free him.

Whipping his wild hair out of his eyes, he dashed down the hallway and came across Spencer and Ian. Tala raised the weapon, ready to fire if needed. They backed away and turn the corner and stayed there.

With a sigh of relief, Tala ran past them and hurtled into the lab. He tackled the door and sent it flying. "Klara! I've come to take you away," he shouted, chest heaving. But when the dust cleared he realized Bryan standing in front of Klara's tank. "You got out," Bryan muttered. "I knew you would come here. But please, here me out–"

Tala raised the gun and aimed it at his teammate.

"Go ahead, Tala," Bryan said, bitterly, "but remember, one wrong shot and you kill Klara. Will you risk it?" Tala stood there, unmoving, pure spite and hatred etched into the features of his face and glistening malevolently in his eyes.

"You die here and now, Bryan," he whispered. He tightened his grip on the gun, and prepared to fire.

-End Chapter-

A/N:

-Edited. I still bet no one saw that coming, though. :P


	4. The Gathering

_Chapter4:_

Max picked up the phone. "Hello?" he asked.

"Max! It's Hillary. Gather up the BladeBreakers and meet at Kai's place!" Max nearly dropped the phone.

"Hillary?!" he shouted, surprised. "I haven't heard from you in so long. How are things?" Max waited fo Hillary's response.

"Not well. Lately, Kai's been having dreams about Klara. A couple of days ago, he woke up in a cold sweat, muttering her name. He went for a walk, but when he came back... He hasn't even been talking for the last two days."

Max snorted, "That's not out of the ordinary. But I'll do it. I have so much money right now, I don't know what to do with it. But one question. Why are you at Kai's house? Are you and Kai an _item_?!" Hillary slammed the receiver and blushed.

_Hurry..._ she thought.

-

"Driger! Vulcan Claw!" Driger smashed Galux aside. "I can't believe you actually beat me!" Mariah laughed.

"What's so hard to believe about that? After all, I'm a two time world champ," Rei grinned.

"The fact that you didn't even beat Gordo is enough to tell me that you were slacking," Mariah snorted. Rei frowned.

"Oh yeah? Well...Mariah? What are you staring at?" Rei looked behind him and saw the incoming helicopter. The flying vehicle landed and Max jumped out.

"Max! How long has it been?" Rei cried. He ran over to greet his long time friend.

"Rei! Listen! We have to get to Russia, right away." Max shouted, over the hum of the helicopter.

"Why?" Rei questioned.

"It's Kai. He's having nightmares about, Klara." Rei looked down at the ground moodily.

"But...So soon. When Mariah and I were just..."

Max clenched his fist as he grabbed Rei by the arm and shouted, "You can take your girlfriend with you, now come on!"

"She's not my girlfriend!"Rei shouted.

"She's a girl and she's your friend, right? If so, she's your _girlfriend_. See how I combined the two words?" Max grinned. So the three hopped into the helicopter. Rei was shocked to see Mariam sitting in the seat next to the driver's.

"What's she doing her?!" Rei cried.

Max gulped and laughed, "Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you, I'm dating Mariam." Rei's jaw dropped.

"Well," Mariah and Mariam giggled together, "aren't you two just full of surprises?"

-

Cerberus crashed into Dragoon, sending him to the end of the dish. "Not bad, Zeo, but I can do better!" Dragoon flashed forward in a blaze of fury and knocked Cerberus clean out of the ring.

"Rats! So close. But I'm not giving up," Zeo smiled. He picked up his blade and stared at the bit-chip containing Cerberus. It had already been a year, but it seemed like only yesterday.

Zeo was at the World Championships. He had stolen Dranzer and Draciel and thought he was undefeatable. But Tyson defeated him despite the odds and won back Dranzer and Draciel.

Zeo was, actually, glad. Tyson had stopped him from becoming a monster and made him realize that the combined power of Dragoon, Dranzer, Driger and Draciel could not turn him, a machine created to replace Dr. Zagart's son, into a breathing human.

Tyson saw a helicopter speeding toward them and pushed Zeo to the ground. The vehicle missed them by inches and landed about fifty yards away. Rei and Max jumped out and ran over. Without an explanation, they grabbed Dragoon, Cerberus, Zeo, and Tyson and dragged them over to the helicopter, not wanting to hear their whining.

"Wait! What about my grandpa!" Tyson shouted.

"And my dad!" Zeo cried.

Max smirked, "We called them both on their cell-phones."

Zeo's response was simply, "Oh."

But Tyson shouted, "Hey my gramps doesn't have a cell! He's too poor!" Max shoved him aboard the helicopter as Rei hoisted Zeo.

"Oh, just shut up, dammit! It's Kai! He's reliving Klara through nightmares," Rei glared. Tyson's shoulders slopped.

"Sorry. I didn't know. I thought it was some sort of annual training program."

Max wrinkled his nose and he snorted, "Yeah, that's all you care about. Comics, food, and being lazy. Listen Tyson, I'm sure Kai won't want your damn sympathy, so don't give it to us." Tyson lowered his head as he allowed them to strap him in.

Tyson looked over at Max and muttered, "I forgot you were the only other person effected by her. The way she kidnapped you..." Max stiffened as he sat in the driver's seat. Tyson suddenly became aware of Mariah and Mariam, but said nothing. He was sure he would say something dumb. Only he and Zeo were single, and it was pretty sad.

Zeo watched all of this from confused eyes. Questions rose to the top of his mind as if they were air bubbles through water. "Um, not to be rude and all, 'cause it seems like this Klara was dangerous, but who exactly is she?"

Max looked back and sighed. "I forgot you came along a little whiles after her." Tyson rose his head to Max face.

"It's okay," he smiled. "It's about time I tell him and act a bit mature about it." So Zeo sat back as Tyson, and Rei, explained the whole thing to him.

-

Max landed the helicopter and sighed, "Well, here we are, Kai's place."

-End Chapter-

A/N:

-Edited


	5. Revival

_Chapter4:_

Tala tightend his grip on the gun and prepared to fire. Bryan stood his ground, unmoving, knowing he wouldn't pull the trigger. Tala instictively threw the gun in the air and hurtled himself forward. Bryan dodge the assult and stopped in front of the control panels. Tala stopped a few inches in front of the tank and caught the gun. He squeezed the trigger and his ear drums rang with the sound of the speeding bullet. Bryan's eyes grew wide as he ducked and felt the bullet graze his shoulder. He stood up and looked Tala down and realized the shaken expression. The screen recording Klara's vital signs went haywire as it exploded. "Klara!" Tala screamed. He ran over but, was stopped in his tracks by Bryan. "Don't you care about her! She's your sister! Will you let her die?" Tala cried. A few more panels went off and sent sparks. The ceiling began to cave. "What an idiot you are Tala." he whispered. "Of course I do. She's my little sis after all."

Tala's muslces tightend. "So why did you rat me out?" Tala said darkly. Bryan smiled. "They were coming on to us and were gonna pull the plug on Klara. So I told them you were planning to murder Boris." Tala sighed, "Well, I guess that's not a total lie." Bryan walked over and handed him Wolborg. "Got it back for you." he said.

Klara's tank lit up and began to crack. Steam seeped through and fogged the room. A cool silver liquid spilled onto the ground. "Klara... She's waking up? But how?" Tala gasped. Just then the alarm sounded and Boris' voice rang over the intercom.

"Attention all personel. I want you to find Tala! Now! And Bryan Too! Yes! I know you tricked me, thanks to Ian. I'll get you!" Bryan turned pale. "I knew we couldn't trust him. Never trust a miget!" he mumbled to himself. "Talk to yourself later. Get Klara some clothes and then we gotta get out, fast." Tala said solemly.

Klara's limp body dettached from the cord that had been feeding her support. Bryan ran over to the closet and pulled out a red shirt and black jeans. "Well, at least Boris had sense enough to know that when the test subjects hatched, they'd be nude." he smirked.

He threw undergarments and the other clothes towards Klara. The two boys turned away as she dressed herself. "Do you think she still has her memories?' Tala muttered. Bryan shrugged, "Who knows, she might be less psycotic too."

Klara reached out for the black jeans as she murmured, "I heard that, Bryan. And this time I've decided to focus more on Dranzer and Kai's friends more than Kai. Slow and silent is a better approach." Bryan smirked, "Well, I guess that's a yes on memories and no on sanity."

Klara walked over to the only computer not demolished and grabbed the red energy source. "Dranzer. I see Tala's been busy. Where's Revenge?" she said. Tala bowed his head. "He was destroyed in the battle with Dranzer, along with your blade." Klara stood silent.

"What are you waiting for? Get me a new one." she grinned. Bryan raised an eye-brow at his sister. "Did she just smile?" Tala frowned. "What? I am a human being." Klara snapped. "I think some of Dranzer's positive feedback was absorded by her system." Bryan sighed. "But it is an improvment, I guess."

He walked over to the blade component box and consrtucted a navy blue, and grey blade, similar to her old Cougara. She reached out and grabbed it. "This design, I like it." she said smirking. Tala sighed, "All right, you got a blade, now let's get out of here before..."

The door flung open and sent splinters of wood flying. "Ah, there you are children. You should be punished. You've been very naughty." Boris laughed cooly. Tala instantly brought out Wolborg. He growled, "Get it straight Boris, we're not your puppets!"

Boris cackled, "Of course you are. I made you what you are. The ultimte blading trio." Tala clenched his teeth. "Wrong! You made us heartless machines!" Bryan launched Falborg and rammed Boris back.

"All these years, I've felt nothing but hatred and spite toward anyone whose ever tried to help me. Do you know what that feels like? Do you!"Bryan shouted. Boris yelled, "Nonsense! If I hadn't taught you of the world's cruelty, you would have never become so strong."

"And me?" Klara managed to say between her heavy breathing and increasing heart rate. Boris grinned, "You were my most successful project. I had no problem downloading false memories of Kai taking you bit-beast."

"What?" Klara gasped. "Yes little girl. What's wong? Did u have a nightmare and dink it was tru?" Boris replied, in a baby voice. Klara purged Dranzer into her blade and watched as the red energy swirled to form Dranzer's image on her bit. "All the years...You made me hate Kai. For no reason at all. What did you do to Cougara! What did you do!" Her eyes flashed with rage and anger.

Boris laughed, "I simply uploaded her to the mainframe," Klara's expression grew bright. She opened her mouth to ask if she was okay but was cut off. "And deleted her." Boris finished, with satisfaction.

"You're lying! How would Kai know of it then? Tell me that!" Klara was red with rage. "Same with you. False memories. He was so young when it happened. I thought the program failed. But apparantly, both programs triggered during the tournament. Making it seem that Kai was the reason for your pain. All I had to do was get Cougr-."

Boris was cut off by Klara. "You! All my hate towards him! It was all in my mind! All of the hate! LIES! All this HATE!. And guess where it's going? Straight towards you!" Klara shrieked.

She ran at breakneck speed towards Boris, preparing to strike. And through her shrieks of rage, she could not hear the screams of Tala and Bryan. The screams warning her of the gun. The gun slowly, slipping from behind Boris' back...

-End Chapter-

A/N:

-Klara's back. And she's good now. I guess my muse was drunk. :P


	6. The Plan

_Chapter5:_

The six teens jumped out of the helicopter and landed on the hard gravel. Tyson looked up at the wooden mansion and gasped. "This is kai's place!" Hillary slid open the door and walkd out into the sun. She smiled, "You're here! Already! Great!" She grabbed Max and dragged him inside while the others followed. "It's not much but, it'll have to do." Tyson twitched. "You call living in this mansion NOT MUCH!" She sat down at the nearest table and smiled earily. "Living in this place has turned her into a complete psyco." Tyson muttered. "I heard that, Tyson!" Hillary growled.

"Well, as you all know," she stopped short as she spotted the unknown, pink-haired girl. "Um, who are you?" she questioned rather rudely. "I'm Mariah. You must be Hillary. Nice to meet you." Mariah smiled back. "Your Mariah! Oh, I've heard so much about you from Rei's letters. Did you know Rei has a crus-" Rei slipped his hand over Hillary's mouth and dragged her to the back of the room. His temple was pulsing as he growled, "I thought you called us her to discuss the Klara problem, not to talk about my love life!"

Hillary walked back over to the group of teens and contined. "Well anyway, like I said, Kai's reliving Klara, so I thought seeing old friends would loosen him up." Tyson snorted, "This is Kai were talking about. The chances of him loosening up are less than me brushing my teeth."

Everyone slowly backed away from Tyson. "Oh, shut up Tyson! Now any questions?" Hillary said. Max slowly rose his arm. "How come when I asked if you and Kai were an item, you hung up on me?" he gulped.

Hillary's eyes turned to orbs of fire as she grabbed a broom. She chased Max out the door, whacking him all the while. "Anyone else wanna piece of me!" she yelled. Tyson's mouth slowly opened but, Max clamped his hand over it. "Trust me, you don't want to give her lip." he whispered.

Just then the door to Kai's room slowly slid open as he came face to face with his 'friends.' His usual hard expression was blank and his pupils were wide and expressionless. His tall blue hair sagged to his shoulders as he dragged himself over to them. They noticed how his skin, was ghostly white. His mouth cracked open, but no words escaped him.

"Why are they here?" he grunted. His pupils shrank down to normal size and his skin returned to its normal color. "Well, I least we know he's happy to see us." Max snickered. Kai growled, "Hey blondie, why don't you go make out with Mariam or something?"

Max turned a scarlet red as he stomped to the darkest corner of the room to curse. "Listen, we're only here to help you out with your Klara problem!" Tyson shouted. Kai remained in silence. Then he slowly muttered, "Get out. I don't need your help." Rei stood there unmoving. "You may not wnat it, but we're gonna help you none the less."

Kai stared him down and sighed. "I should've known you would try to pull something like this Hillary." Rei smiled. "So, what exactly happened?" Kai sat down as the rest gathered, exept for Max, who was still thoughroly angered.

Kai explained to them the simple truth of the matter. When he finished, he pulled out Dranzer. "The bit-chip's blank. So it's true then?" Mariam sighed. She griped Sharkrash in her palm. Kai nodded. "Well, it's pretty obvious that Tala has some sort of connection to her. All we have to do is find out what it is, and pry off that weakness."

Mariah added, "I don't get it. Why don't we just break into Biovolt and steal Dranzer back?" Kai looked up at her. "I would have tried that earlier, but the odds of four Demolition Boys armed with bit-beast against only one of me, didn't seem to well. Not to mention, the possibility of Klara awakening from suspended animation."

Tyson looked at Kai, wide-eyed. "So it's true then. She is alive. And that how they've been keeping her alive." Kai nodded in response. "The Demolition Boys." Mariah growled. "They will pay for their past deeds. The White Tigers must be avenged of course."

"I just can't believe it." Zeo muttered. "What don't you believe?" Rei asked. "Well, from what Tyson told me, Tala actually cracked a smile when he was defeated. They even shook hands. Anyone who smiles can't be all bad." Rei sighed, "That may be so, but Tala is one of a kind."

"Well, the odds of seven of us against four of them sound pretty good to me." Max said smiling, as he walked over. "So it's settled then? Today the BladeBreakers charge down Biovolt!" Tyson cried. "Wait! I forgot Kenny! I'll be back in five hours! Then, tomorrow the BladeBreakers charge down Biovolt." Max shouted as he hopped into the helicopter.

Kai watched it fly off as he solemnly thought to himself, "Dranzer, don't worry. We'll get you back."

-End Chapter-


	7. The Escape and Capture

_Chapter6:_

Boris lashed out the gun, and slammed its handle against Klara's cheek. He held the weapon at arm's length, pointing it at the snarling girl. Boris' finger tightend around the trigger as the sound of metal on metal clanged. Klara stood there as a crumpled heap on the floor, her hands covering her face. She looked past them, and what she saw, made her gasp. The bullet did not hit her own semi-robotic body. But instead, a red haired, blue eyed teen, stood in front of her, blood trickling along his front: Tala.

"I won't let this mad man kill us." he gasped through the gushes of blood. Bryan tried to talk, but all that escaped his throat was a crack. "Ta-la. You..? Why? _Why?_" Klara moaned, steadying Tala as he staggered towards Boris. "I've had enough of your sick, twisted games, old man. I'm going to take you down." Tala growled as he broke into a weak run. "Even if I have to go down with you!" He rammed Boris into the stone wall, who was grinning wildly.

His cloak fell, revealing, not cloths, or even skin, but a robotic body. And in the center, his heart lay, pumping furiously, in a n iron case, attached to a tube. The three teens looked at the strange seen in shock. Boris' psycotic grin widened. "You see children. Before you all came along, I needed someone to experiment on. When no one applied, well, the out come is obvious." Boris laughed.

"What's wrong? Not so sure you can win, now that your facing an original cyborg?" he mocked. Tala snarled, "Actually, I'm feeling quite a bit more confident." he yelped, as more blood fell from his mouth and splattered onto the floor. "It'll be easy, beating an out-of-date tin can!" He ran at Boris, who lashed out his hand, sending Tala sprawling onto the ground.

"Stupid boy." Boris grinned, raising his hand. An odd, grotesque noise filled the room as Boris' hand turned silver and twisted into a drill. "Now, I'm going to take you apart, piece, by, piece." he cackled. "Don't worry. It won't hurt, much. Okay, A LOT!" He slammed his arm down hard aiming for Tala's face, who had aready slipped from under him, during his speech.

"Get back here!" Boris hissed. He was suddenly bowled over by a silver wolf. "WOLBORG!" Tala boomed. His hair blew behind him, and billowed in the thick, silver blizzard that suddenly appeared. "See ya, tin-can-man!" Tala shouted, over the howling of the wind. They formed a ladder leading up to the air vent. They thrusted Klara up first, then Bryan, and finally Tala who called Wolborg back to him, leaving Boris shrieking with rage in the blinding blizzaed below them.

-

Max landed the helicopter smoothly on the front lawn of the house. He and Kenny hoped out and walked to the door. They slid it open and walked inside. It was quite different before Max left. Driger skidded to a halt a Kenny's feet, and rammed inward at Galux. The pink blade flew back, landing on Dragoon, who flew back and narrowly dodged Sharkrash.

"GUYS!" Max boomed. "Kenny's here." The teens looked up from their battles and greeted their friend, who was informed on the situation. Kenny frowned, "Are you nuts! Take on the Demolition Boys? They'd crushed us! Five on...one, two ,three, four, five,...six? Oh. Never mind." Kenny flushed red.

"Wow. You're making a bigger fool of yourself than Tyson." Dizzi said, amused. "Shut up." Kenny muttered. "So," Tyson said, patting him on the back and knocking him over. "Got any formation plans?" Kenny smirked as he brought up a 3D map of Biovolt on Dizzi. "How'd you do that!" Tyson blurted. "I attatched a minature camera and microphone on your jacket, last time you went. It fell off. So we were able to hear where they were moving their base. It's the old museam across town. I know it well enough."

Max snorted, "Only because you've been there a billion times." Kenny smirked. "Actually, seven-hundred, twenty-seven times." Dizzi corrected.

"Anyway, it's under the basement. _Way_ under. About 3000 feet." The rest of the bladers stared at Kenny incredulously. "WHAT!" the boomed. "3000 feet. But we'll need more people. We'll be the main, but we'll need the rest of the White Tigers, Majestics, and Saint Shields. The All Stars are on vacation in Australia. I don't care how good that chopper is, it won't make the trip." Kenny said, typing furiously.

Max' eyes widened. "That'll be a lot of helicopter trips!" he said, stunned. "Make it quick!" Mariam shouted as he left. The rest of the day was spent training, and planning, which they had to revise everytime Max arrived with a new group. Kai, of course, practiced without Dranzer, seeing as he was no longer with them.

When they had all gathered, Kenny re-explained the situation and plan to them, for what he said was the fifth time. "Question is 'How do eighteen teenagers sneak into a guard, secret, evil, underground base?" Ozuma stated. Kenny, once again, brought up the 3D map of the base. "We're not going as one. We're going in disguised groups." He looked around and pointed at each as he adressed them. "The Saint Shields will be Group B, the White Tigers will be Group C, and the Majestics will be Group D. The BladeBreakers will be Group A."

The eighteen teens looked at each other. Kai suddenly spoke. "Alright. We know the plan, so let's do this."

-

The three teens crawled along the air vent, occasionally holding their breaths for fear of being caught. After what seemed to be hours of winding air vent they came to a wide opening, which led to a master air vent. They slipped down into the guard-free, abandoned hallway. The trio tipe-toed lightly across the base, twice narrowly missing being caught. "Tala's wound seems to be getting better." Bryan whispered lowly as they crept across the hallway, busy with guards.

Tala looked both ways and snuck across as he said, "Robotic technology has its perks." Bryan saw that the anslaught of pacing guards would never end, and took a chane. He ran across the hall intersect stealthly, but not quickly enough. A guard soon spotted him, sounding the alarm. "HALT! Sound the alarms! We've found them! We've found them!" he shouted.

The three bolted for the door at the far end of the hall, over-turning whatever they could to block the path. "Thanks for exposing us, Bryan!" Klara shouted from the lead, as the two boys struggled to keep up with her.

-

Three groups of teens stood innocently at the museam's gates. The sign read 'Ebony Palace.' Tyson snorted under his black cloak. "Sounds like a rich snob's house." he murmured. One group was shrouded in black cloaks, the other, in white, and the last, in red cloaks. The figures walked around the museam, uttering some words to each other, each group hidden near a different entrance. The guards leered around, unsuspecting of the hatchng plan.

Suddenly, across the street, a pillar holding up the Laquarie Mansion's front gate collapsed, toppling the whole wall onto the house. The guards did not hestitate to bolt over, helping in whatever way the could. Meanwhile, four blades flew into four outstretched hands, as a fourth group of cloaked figures appeared. "We did it!" Oliver yelped through his navy cloak.

The four groups split up, each taking a different entrance into the museam, so as to not be too suspicious. "It would seem our spliting was unneeded." Robert said. The museam was empty. "I don't think those guards even know what's going on in here." Lee mused. Kenny pulled out his laptop. The 3D map appeared again, this time with five dots, each labled. "Hey. I know that these four dots are us, but what's that fifth one?" Rei questioned.

"That's the entrance into the base. Somewhere around there, anyway." he said, his fingers, once again, glued to his laptop. "Ouch, that hurts, Chief!" Dizzi whinned. Kenny ignored her began checking his calculations, as they advanced to the green dot. It was only when he hit a wall, that Kenny looked up from Dizzi. He looked up to the painting, then back to Dizzi. "Alright, guys. After this, we won't have a map of the place. So be prepared. Several of the teens snorted, their blades already attached to the launchers under their cloaks.

Kennny poked randomly at the painting he was facing, hoping to find a trigger. "This is hopless! The guards will be back any minute now!" Dunga sighed, as he sat on one of the statue platforms. It slid, as the sound of screeching metal filled the room. The group looked forward to see two bolted, iron doors, then back at Dunga. He grinned, "Genious, aren't I?"

Three blades zipped through the air and smashed the lock. The gates creaked open, as the group cautiously snuck in. The gates slammed tightly behind them. They went sneaking along the dark corridors of the halls, not meeting too many guards along their path. It had been about an hour when the sounds of yelling guards and an alarm met their ears.

"They've found us!" Kevin hissed. "Split up!" Jospeh said, already leading the Saint Shields down a seperate path. It wasn't long before it was just the BladeBreakers, Hillary, and Kenny running down the hall. Kenny huffed under the strain to keep up. "I don't think they're after us." Kai whispered, his back to the wall. "They're after," he cupped his ear. "Bryan, Tala, and Klara." he finished. A somewhat eerie silence met these words.

Tyson looked at Kai. "Kai, you just said Klara's name, without the tiniest bit of fear." he said, astounded. Kai shrugged, "They have Dranzer. I won't back out on him. Not now." The sound of scurrying feet met their ears, too quick for them to hide. The BladeBreakers stared at the three pale teens before them: Tala, Bryan, and Klara.

-

Bryan, Tala, and Klara stared at the BladeBreakers. But it was not the angered face of Kai that paled them, and chilled them to the very bone. They opened their mouths in vain, releasing only a silent scream. It was the sight of Boris, slowly creeping upon them, his face torn, one red eye gleaming from the shredded mask. And the long jagged blade raised above the BladeBreakers heads...

-End Chapter-

A/N:

-I just realized how little this story makes sense. Eighteen cloaked figure that aren't suspicious? Yeah, right.


	8. The Healing Wound

Disclaimer: If you're looking for the disclaimer, read chapter one.

A/N:

-This is the last chapter of _Open Wound_; it was fun at first, very, but once I started _Black Dusk _it got hard to find inspiration because it was boring and kiddy compared to my other story. I'm not sure if it came out any good, but regardless here's the last chapter of _Open Wound_.

_Chapter7:_

The Saint Shields stopped, realizing they had rached a dead end. "Damn!" Dunga sweared. Ozuma remained still, examining the situation. "If the others were caught, Boris would be boasting on the intercom. I think it's safe to find the others.

Mariam sighed, "How can we? This place is like a labyrinth." Joseph nodded. "We'll never find our way out of here." Dunga growled angrily. "I am not gonna rot and die in this place! It's so..." he muttered some profanity under his breath.

"Cool it guys. Don't any of you remeber the story of the minotaur?" Ozuma questioned. "You mean that freaky bull thing with talons, and a snake tail, and--" Mariam began. "The point is, we'll just use something to mark our path. It's a gamble. A guard could find it, but we can't help the Bladebreakers if we're lost. So, anyone got a plan?"

Mariam grinned. "You came to the right girl!" Mariam removed a ball of green thread from her cloak and threw it onto the ground. Dunga and Ozuma stared a her. "Why do you have yarn?" They chorused. Mariam turned scarlet under her cloak.

"Well, um, you see...what I mean is.." Joseph cut off her rambling. "She was probably sewing something for her boyfriend, Maxy." he mocked giddily. "SHUT UP!" Mariam's voice echoed menacingy. Joseph cowered behind Dunga. "Get up." Ozuma commanded and Dunga followed Mariam down a path. "We have a long way to go."

Joseph stared into his leaders eyes. They were solemn. "That's not what's got you so worked up." Ozuma sighed. "You know me too well, Joseph. The thing is, this is Boris' labyrinth, and somewhere, I bet the minatour is lurking.."

-

"So where do you think we are?" Mariah's voice questioned from the dark hall. "Don't know." Lee responded. I know where we are. Lost." Kevin interjected. "That's not a place, is it?" Gary questioned. "Don't be silly, Gary, Kevin's just stupid." Mariah giggled.

"Hey! Watch it! You're the stupid one!"

"No, you're stupid! You couldn't tell the difference between a donkey or an ass!"

"You idiot! They're the same thing!"

"You would know, seeing as how you are one!"

"Will you two quit quarlling? This is no place for sibling rivalry. Did you forget why we're here?" The two siblings hung their heads in shame. "We're here to find Klara and reclaim Dranzer." they echoed dully.

"Right. Now let's not waste any more time."Lee comanded. The team continued down the hall in silence, the darkness none too comforting.

-

Oliver muttered darkly under his cloak. He was really getting on Robert's nerves. "Fine, Oliver! If you shut up about how it 'clashes with your style' then you can take off the cloak!" he growled. Oliver whooped with glee, flinging off the musty garment and allowing it to hit the floor, stirring up dust in its wake.

Enrique sighed in frustration. "This is pointless, Robert! We're lost, we're tired, and we could run into an enemy at any minute. Why don't we just turn back and get outta here!" Robert turned his stern gaze upon the unfortunate speaker.

"Because, my forgetful friend, we made a promise, and one that I intend to keep. We are not leaving here till we find Dranzer, and destroy everything that has to do with Biovolt's foul name. Understand?" Robert barked.

A dull murmur of understanding was emitted from the team, before they continued silently down their path.

-

The large blade hung above their heads, ready to strike. Brian stood frozen to the spot, Tala leaning upon his shoulder. Tala's lips opened, yet only a hoarse crack was released. Klara looked at Kai, and could see the hatred and anger in his eyes. And again, she felt her old self returning.

But she was quick to forget this, remebering Boris, the root of all their pain and suffering. Kai was not her enemy. He may not have been her friend, but he was indeed an ally. Klara clenched her teeth, unable to allow them to die so needlessly.

"DUCK!" she roared.

Rei veered backwards, able to see the blade descending upon their heads. He wheeled back furiously, tackling Kai and Tyson, and bringing Kenny and Zeo down with his arms, and tripping Max.

The weapon cut through the air, its metallic hum echoing in the corridors. Kai rose steadily to his feet. "So this is the true Boris, huh? Figures you'd be mad enough to experiment on yourself." Kai dodged a swing.

"Are you going to swing that freak-show arm of yours all day, or do you want your henchmen to do the dirty work?" Kai casted a hateful glance towards Tala, Bryan, and Klara. "Them?" Boris responded. "I was just on my way to exterminate these pest." Kai spat on Boris. "Got tired of them, wanted new ones? That's the sorta sick bastard you are!"

Kai rushed in blindly, flinging his hands out for protection, as his body hurtled into Boris. He staggered backward, skinning Kai off and resuming his attack.

"Where's Dranzer?" Rei snarled, delivering one of his kicks. "Tell us!" Tyson had loaded Dragoon.

A grin creeped its way onto Boris' face. "I don't know. Ask, her." Boris point a long crooked arm at Klara. No sooner had he, thta Kai was upon her. "Where's Dranzer! I don;t want games! Tell me where--" Klara opened her outstretched palm, revealing her beyblade, Dranzer's bit on its front.

"You're giving it to me?" Kai murmured, unsure.

"It's what you want, isn't?" she said, her voice unchanging and flat.

"Y-yes, but I expected a strug--" Klara snapped.

"It's yours, so take."

Tears pour romKlara's eyes as she turned and left Kai, who's expression was one of bewilderment. He looked from the helpless expression of Tala to Bryan, and back. "What's going on?" Kai said, unsure. Tala tore his misty eyes away from Klara weeping on the floor.

"Kai," Tala said weakly, a trickle of blood passing over the already dry blood on his lips. He cast his gaze towards Boris, who was still dealing the rest of the Bladebreakers. Tala emmited a weak sough, the hatred and disgust clear on his face. "There's something you should know."

-

Kai's eyes hardened at his gained knowledge. Built up anger overflowed and gushed forward at the thought of his own memories, manipulated by the disgust excuse of a cyborg named Boris.

"Boris! You think... you think you have the damn right? The right to mess with our lives, our own memories!"

Kai glanced at his own blade, then down at Klara's as it glowed, Dranzer's red spirit released from her own beyblade and shifted to his. He smirked as he glanced at his bit, whispering under his breath, "Welcome back, Dranzer."

His gaze turned frm once again as he gazed at the monstrosity defending itself from the other Bladebreakers, easily shaking them off and tossing them aside, allowing there bodies to crashing against the walls.

"You fools honestly believe you ca ndefeat me? Me, the ultimate cyborg, the creator of bitbeast, the harnesser of all power? You fools think that you can conquer a being as powerful as myself!"

Kai loaded Dranzer to his launcher, pointing it directly at Boris' chest. "Yes, we do."

Boris could not help but release a mirthless laugh. "Kai, ever the persistent one. You had such talent. Both you _and_ Klara."

"Don't talk to me like that, you bastard. Dranzer!"

Dranzer launched from his launcher, whizzing through the air like a dart as it sped toward Boris, bouncing harmlessly off his reinforced armor.

"You're a fool Kai. You always were. Come back to us, and we can teach you so much more than you know."

"Thanks, but I'll pass. Dranzer!"

The blade ricocheted off the opposite wall, cutting through the air as it slammed into Boris' face, ripping the remainig flesh from his being. "I see there's no changing your mind. That's a shame, Kai. So much talent, put to waste."

There was the sound of a metallic pump as both of Boris' blade-like arms lifted off their sockets, two more arms emerging from them, the ends rounding in a cylindrical machine. They vibrated as a ghostly wail seemed to fill the room, screeching as it filled the ears of every being present. The bit-chips seemed to glow as theit spirits were extraced, wandering from the chips as they were taken into Boris' body.

"No! Driger!"

"Cerberus! You can't go too!"

"An unlimited power source, to secure my existance." A smile crossed Boris' face. "And your moans of grief only empower me more."

The moan of their owners chorused as one voice as Boris' absorded their powers. Kai threw a frantic glance towards Dranzer as it glowed a faint red, wobbling as Dranzer struggled to resist.

"No! You're not taking Dranzer!"

The glow faded as Dranzer's spirit dropped back into the bit, his blade steadying itself. "We're not going, not without a fight!" The gleam of each bitbeast seeming to envelop his form.

"When I have the power of nearly every bitbeast in this room? You _are_ a fool."

Boris' cylindrical arms trembled, the ends closing and allowing five sharp claws to emerge and join, forming a drill-like weapon. "It's a shame you'll die."

He charged, slapping away Dranzer as it attempted to defend claw. He tackled Kai, both of them colliding to the ground as he shoved one of his drill-like weapons into Kai's waist, forcing him ot cry out in pain.

"Is the pain enoguh? Are you ready to give in Kai?"

Kai struggled to gurgle words through mouth, quickly filling with blood.

"Not in your wildest dream, Boris'."

Boris' clenched his teeth in anger. "Will you just give in, you can't win Kai! You alone, outmatched, and outpowered!" With every word, Boris cut at Kai's face with each of his two blade-arms, goading the blood the trickle along his face, running down his head and drenching his hair crimson.

A chuckled was emmited from his grinning mouth as his blood-soaked hair matted against his face.

"You don't get it, Boris. I may be weak by myself, but together, we can take you down anytime. Even now, because I'm _not_ alone."

"Kai's right." Rei struggled to his feet, wheezing as he did so. "He has us. All of us."

The rest of the Bladebreakers rose as well, though admittedly, fairly weak and exhausted. Boris laughed.

"Four weak teens and their misguided leader? How touching." He drove his blade deeper and smiled at Kai's pained grimace. He screamed in pain.

"Dranzer!"

The top has long stopped spinning, the blade itself broken and shattered, except for the bitbeast, being the only untouched piece. It trembled, shaking with an unseen force as it rolled back and forth upon the ground.

"What the hell are you doing!" Boris' voice sounded urgent as he drove his weapon further still. This was a fatal mistake. Dranzer's beyblade tremored, cracked as a red gleam of light escaped from the faults in the quickly fragmenting top. The vibrating stop, and the blade stood still.

"Hmph. A show of nonexistant power. Now, if I believe, I was about t-"

_-Clang!-_

Klara pounced upon Boris' back, gripping in her hands a metal pipe as she beat at his back. He roared, flinging her off easily so thjat she collided violently with a wall, a slouched upon the floor.

"Klara!"

Kai found himself calling her name in worry, as she glanced up at him with blood stained upon her face. She rose again, taking the pipe within her hands, and again Boris disposed of her violently.

"Klara, what are you doing!"

She glanced up from the blood stained floor, her grey eyes overflowing with tears as she struggled upright.

"Atoning."

She limped weakly towards him, flinging the bent pipe, before it shattered upon Boris' hard exoskeleton. Klara collapsed to the floor as Bois rose from Kai's bleeding form.

"You poor, misguided child."

Klara snarled. "Get away from me! Misguided? You've misguided me for four years of my life! Wasted, here! Don't tell me I'm misguided now!"

Boris' uppermost blades retracted, turning instead into hands. He gripped Klara in his cold arms. "It's alright now," he said, willing her to glare into his eyes. "I'm going to make everything better."

"No!" She sobbed, strugglin weakly to break free. "Not again!"

Kai watched, his own blood staining his hands as she sruggled to free herself from Boris' control. He felt her pain, her misery, her suffering, and soon found a clear tear of making its way down his cheek. He had seen enough.

"Dranzer!"

Dranzer's blade erupted, its metal fragment shower the room as a red burts of light exploded from its contents, illuminating the room. He screeched, his shrill call filing the room as he swooped downward, throwing Boris from lara's being as he rescued her, before turnig to Kai.

He glanced up in shock, finding both himself and Klara resting upon Dranzer's breast, each embraced in one wing. Visablly their wounds sealed as they rested in its warm clasp.

"D-Dranzer?" Kai stuttered in surpirse.

It nodded.

"What're you-?" Klara's soft voice eached Kai's ears.

Both teens gazed into the phoenix's eyes, and both nodded in acknowledgement.

"We... understand."

Boris rose weakly, his armor dented and cracked from Dranzer's assault. "You _fools_ DARE to defy me! A being almighty!" Dranzer waved one aura-like wing lazily, prompting a glow from within Boris. "What are you doing, you retched bird! I'll destroy you-"

One spirit sprang forth, taking the form of a cougar as it disappeared into the light surrounding kKlara. Tears of joy sprang from Klara's eyes.

"Cougara. I never stopped hoping, never stopped believing you were alive..."

Kai placed one hand upon Klara's, impelling her to look up in surpise, and nod through her tears at his statement.

"Klara, let's end this, for good."

The sacred spirits within Boris combusted, springing forth in a shower of light as they envoked their rath upon him, tearing at his flesh and armor alike, till it fell, tattered, to the floor.

Boris collasped to his knees, weakened as the blitzkrieg bitbeast departed, not for their bits, but instead to envelop both Klara and Kai, enshrouding them in a sea of light as their entire beings transmuted into another.

They watched fascinated as Dranzer's red feathers themselves disappeared, paling to a bleach white as the phoenix faded into their backs, leaving instead only its white wings, tipped with gold. The swathing aura of bitbeast quelled, taking up one form of residence as they assimilated themselves into both teens' being.

Klara and Kai found themselves embraced, their eyes pools of white, seemeing to contain such force and power that their sockets craved to crack and burst. Blanketed in a cloth of snowy, translucent white, their feathered wings like doves, their aura pure.

Boris peered fearfully into Klara's eyes, and then Kai's trembling as they seemed to bore into him, unflinching.

"Now do you see it, Boris?" Kai cried, his voice an echo of potency, defined as each bitbeast within them. "This is pure power, in its quintessential form."

He waved one arm, the force of thei combined power exerting itself upon Boris, sending him colliding into the wall as they drifted toward him, descending slowly till their feet reached the ground.

"Boris, this battle is one sided." Klara boomed, her voice mirroring Kai's. "There is no hope for your triumph, no probability that you can emerge the victor. Your fate is now predetermined."

She clenched one spectral-like fist, before thrusting it into Boris' central chest cavity. "Your heart, made metal from flesh, no longer beats, so why should you continue to exist?"

See ripped her hand outward, revealing the metallic pump, working vigourously as it attempted to pump both blood and oil, little of its structure actual flesh. Kai placed hs own hand upon it.

Boris gripped his chest in both shock and pain, wheeling over inept. Kai took one disgusted glance, before they shattered the fusion of metal and flesh in one squelech, allowing its gruesome contents to spill to the floor.

"We, the Sacred Spirits, have deemed your existance unfit!" A swirl of light enveloped Klara and Kai's joined form as the spirits dispersed, returning to their respective beyblades.

"Your pertinent end has been justified!"

In a dull roar of splendor, they were left two lone figures as they collapsed to the ground, exhausted and strained. Immeadiately, Kai's teammates rushed to his aide.

"Kai!" It was Tyson, only he could have an annoying voice so loud. "Are you alright? You had me freaked out there, buddy!" Kai opened one eye to find his team staring at him intently, worry etched across their faces. He smiled.

"Tyson... shut up."

There was a sigh or relief at his relatively routine insult. Rei slipped beneath Kai's right arm, acting as support she lifted him allowing him to lean upon him. "Take it easy. We don't want you collapsing again." His anxious expression melted away with a grin as he handed Kai his bit. "And it looks like Dranzer will be just fine, too."

"You're all fools."

The group tunred in shock at the inert form of Boris upon the floor, his brittle face now cracked and breaking, blood and oil splattered upon his creased lips, yet still he managed a weak laugh.

"That heart," he sputtered, coughing up blood-mix oil. "_My_ heart, is the control unit for this entire factory. And it's rigged to self-destruct upon its own destruction. This entire place is about to blow, sky high."

He managed one more maniacal laugh, before it faded into silence, the last glow of red in his artificial eye disappearing as the deafening alarm sounded again. Kai clenched his teeth weakly as a sign of rage.

"Damn you, Boris. Even in death you're still taunting me."

"What are we going to do?" It was the first time Max had spoken since they had reached Biovolt.

"If you want to live, then you'll run."

Max tunred his head in suprise to see Klara's back fading away into the dark corridor, Tala, leaning on upon her. She turned, casting a fleeting glance.

"If you're worried about your friends, don't be. They'll make it out alive. Biovolt's programmed to reveal several hidden passages upon self-destruct. They're pretty numerous, so if they're not deaf and smart, they'll take them." She turned, continuing to walk with the limping Tala by her side. Kai outsretched a bruised arm.

"Klara, wait!"

She stopped. "Why'd you-?"

"It just.. felt like something I had to do..."

Her expression remained blank as Kai smiled.

"Thank you. You've given an old wound a chance to finally heal."

A small smile broke out upon the corner of her lips. "No, thank you for freeing me from a prison I was never aware of."

She motioned for Kai's team to follow, and they did.

-

The Bladebreakers, accompanied by Klara, Brian and Tala, watched from across the street as the museum collapsed in upon itself, the sun sinking lazily under the horizon. Tyson grinned excitedly as he watched the other teams emerge from the emergency exits, covered in soot and scratches.

"Ozuma, Lee, Robert! You guys are okay!"

Ozuma clenched a fist and delt Tyson a playful blow. "No thanks to you!"

"I concur." Robert complained, whipping dirt from his shirt. "Don't expect to call upon the Majestics for any more favors, Tyson. You pretty much wasted our day."

But Robert! It wasn-!"

"Tyson, I'm afraid the White Tigers agree. It's not our style."

"You guys can't be serious!"

Robert flickd out his cell phone. "Very. Either way, I'm calling for my private helicopter. I want to get back to my yacht. You guys can go back in the helicopter you flew in on."

Within minutes, all three teams had dispersed and had left the Bladebreaks alone, say for Klara and the remaining Demolition Boys. Kai watched them, concerned.

"Where will you guys go?"

Tala motioned for Klara to put him down, allowing him to rest against the brick wall she was leaning on. "Somewhere nice and quiet... where we don't have to worry about the rest of the world."

Brian smiled at the glowing warmth of the sun as the wind billowed in his face. "Yeah. Sounds about right." Tala attempted to struggle upright on his own, immediately prompting Klara to come to his aid.

"Will we see you guys again?"

Klara nodded. "Of course, there's still a Championship Title with my name on it, isn't there?"

Kai smiled. "You'll have to go through me-" Tyson leaned heavily on his shoulder, "-I mean _us_, to get there."

His smile was mirrored. "I look forward to that, Kai."

They turned, departing down the street as their backs faded into the setting sun. Kai's smile broadened at the prospect.

"I'll look forward to it, too, Klara."

-End Story-

A/N:

-That's the final chapter. Lookng back at it, I think I like how it came out. Not how I imagined, but still fairly good. :P

-Well, Author Notes at the end of a story are pretty much always akward for me so, that's it.


End file.
